Hide yo' kids

Inevitably, I'm back to working a lot during the worst time of the year to be confined to a small tube with a minimum 52 strangers and no fresh air.  Yes, the dreaded cold and flu season.  It's gross.  You don't have to be a germophobe to realize how disgusting people can be, like Hammer, who has recently discovered that picking his nose can be fun.  Or people who go to the bathroom without washing their hands.  Or even better, runny nose recipients who use their hand as a tissue.  Gross.

Well, we are all as guilty as the next guy for spreading the love, err, germs this time of year, and I've tried my part to be a little better.  Because, as I said earlier, I'm stuck in a tiny little tube for hours on end with plenty of strangers who love to litter their little nasties around.  And I'm not trying to scare you with the picture below, just illustrating what us lucky aviation enthusiasts have to deal with daily.

Figure 1. "The Nasty"

Needless to say, we live in a dirty world.  But, at the same time, a little dirt has to be good for us, right?  I think so, hence my lack of Purell-ing the crap out of my kids on a regular basis.  However, we have to realize that there has to be a limit to our exposure to what I call "The Nasty", and attempt to mitigate it from affecting our kids.  For me, that means trying to keep "The Nasty" in check and leaving it all at work.  And, with all these stories about more and more cases of hotels providing bed bugs complimentary, the fight has taken a more serious role.

You might be thinking why am I sharing this?  Well, while we've had our share of runny noses in the house, we've also had our fair share of scares.  I remember one day I was at work, headed up to somewhere in Canada for the night, when, before departing San Francisco, I received a picture message from Stefani that looked like this:

Figure 2. Sick Kenzi

Not the kind of image you want when you're supposed to leave the country for the day.  Thankfully, Kenzi was tougher than I could ever be and allowed these crazy people to poke her with a few needles to help her in her quest to conquer RSV.  And, after a few days in the hospital, and a few prayers, she was allowed to come home and enjoy being the cute girl she is.

So, this winter, I guess I'll be getting my flu shot.  And believe me, I despise needles.  Really do.  They scare me.  But if it keeps my babies from having to go to the hospital, then I'll do it.  But we can't be too cautious, since, thanks to this experience, Kenzi now has the immunities to fight off everything, including modest attempts to be potty trained.